[United States Statutes at Large, Volume 132, 115th Congress, 2nd Session]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]


Public Law 115-402
115th Congress

An Act


 
To direct the National Science Foundation to provide grants for research
about STEM education approaches and the STEM-related workforce, and for
other purposes. <>

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled, <>
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ``Innovations in Mentoring, Training,
and Apprenticeships Act''.
SEC. 2. <>  FINDINGS.

Congress finds the following:
(1) To remain competitive in the global economy, foster
greater innovation, and provide a foundation for shared
prosperity, the United States needs a workforce with the right
mix of skills to meet the diverse needs of the economy.
(2) Evidence indicates that the returns on investments in
technical skills in the labor market are strong when students
successfully complete their education and gain credentials
sought by employers.
(3) The responsibility for developing and sustaining a
skilled technical workforce is fragmented across many groups,
including educators, students, workers, employers, Federal,
State, and local governments, civic associations, and other
stakeholders. Such groups need to be able to coordinate and
cooperate successfully with each other.
(4) Coordination among students, community colleges,
secondary and post-secondary institutions, and employers would
improve educational outcomes.
(5) Promising experiments currently underway may guide
innovation and reform, but scalability of some of those
experiments has not yet been tested.
(6) Evidence suggests that integration of academic
education, technical skills development, and hands-on work
experience improves outcomes and return on investment for
students in secondary and post-secondary education and for
skilled technical workers in different career stages.
(7) Outcomes show that mentoring can increase STEM student
engagement and the rate of completion of STEM post-secondary
degrees.

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SEC. 3. NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION STEM INNOVATION AND
APPRENTICESHIP GRANTS.

Section 3 of the Scientific and Advanced-Technology Act of 1992 (42
U.S.C. 1862i) is amended--
(1) by redesignating subsections (d) through (g) as
subsections (g) through (j), respectively;
(2) by inserting after subsection (c) the following:

``(d) Grants for Associate Degree Programs in STEM Fields.--
``(1) In-demand workforce grants.--The Director shall award
grants to junior or community colleges to develop or improve
associate degree or certificate programs in STEM fields, with
respect to the region in which the respective college is
located, and an in-demand industry sector or occupation.
``(2) Applications.--In considering applications for grants
under paragraph (1), the Director shall prioritize--
``(A) applications that consist of a partnership
between the applying junior or community college and
individual employers or an employer consortia, or
industry or sector partnerships, and may include a
university or other organization with demonstrated
expertise in academic program development;
``(B) applications that demonstrate current and
future workforce demand in occupations directly related
to the proposed associate degree or certificate program;
``(C) applications that include commitments by the
partnering employers or employer consortia, or industry
or sector partnerships, to offer apprenticeships,
internships, or other applied learning opportunities to
students enrolled in the proposed associate degree or
certificate program;
``(D) applications that include outreach plans and
goals for recruiting and enrolling women and other
underrepresented populations in STEM fields in the
proposed associate degree or certificate program; and
``(E) applications that describe how the applying
junior or community college will support the collection
of information and data for purposes of evaluation of
the proposed associate degree or certificate program.

``(e) Grants for STEM Degree Applied Learning Opportunities.--
``(1) In general.--The Director shall award grants to
institutions of higher education partnering with private sector
employers or private sector employer consortia, or industry or
sector partnerships, that commit to offering apprenticeships,
internships, research opportunities, or applied learning
experiences to enrolled students in identified STEM
baccalaureate degree programs.
``(2) Purposes.--Awards under this subsection may be used--
``(A) to develop curricula and programs for
apprenticeship, internships, research opportunities, or
applied learning experiences; or
``(B) to provide matching funds to incentivize
partnership and participation by private sector
employers and industry.
``(3) Applications.--In considering applications for grants
under paragraph (1), the Director shall prioritize--

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``(A) applicants that consist of a partnership
between--
``(i) the applying institution of higher
education; and
``(ii) individual employers or an employer
consortia, or industry or sector partnerships;
``(B) applications that demonstrate current and
future workforce demand in occupations directly related
to the identified STEM fields;
``(C) applications that include outreach plans and
goals for recruiting and enrolling women and other
underrepresented populations in STEM fields; and
``(D) applications that describe how the institution
of higher education will support the collection and
information of data for purposes of the evaluation of
identified STEM degree programs.

``(f) Grants for Computer-based and Online STEM Education Courses.--
``(1) In general.--The Director of the National Science
Foundation shall award competitive grants to institutions of
higher education or nonprofit organizations to conduct research
on student outcomes and determine best practices for STEM
education and technical skills education through distance
learning or in a simulated work environment.
``(2) Research areas.--The research areas eligible for
funding under this subsection may include--
``(A) post-secondary courses for technical skills
development for STEM occupations;
``(B) improving high-school level career and
technical education in STEM subjects;
``(C) encouraging and sustaining interest and
achievement levels in STEM subjects among women and
other populations historically underrepresented in STEM
studies and careers; and
``(D) combining computer-based and online STEM
education and skills development with traditional
mentoring and other mentoring arrangements,
apprenticeships, internships, and other applied learning
opportunities.'';
(3) in subsection (a)(3)(A), by striking the comma and
inserting a semicolon;
(4) in subsection (c)(1)(B)(iv), by striking ``subsection
(f)(3)'' and inserting ``subsection (i)(3)'';
(5) in subsection (h), as redesignated--
(A) in the heading, by striking ``Limitation on
Funding'' and inserting ``Funding'';
(B) by inserting ``(3) Limitation on funding.--''
before ``To qualify'' and indenting appropriately; and
(C) by inserting before paragraph (3), as
redesignated, the following:
``(1) Funding.--The Director shall allocate out of amounts
made available for the Education and Human Resources
Directorate--
``(A) up to $5,000,000 to carry out the activities
under subsection (d) for each of fiscal years 2019
through 2022, subject to the availability of
appropriations;
``(B) up to $2,500,000 to carry out the activities
under subsection (e) for each of fiscal years 2019
through 2022, subject to the availability of
appropriations; and

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``(C) up to $2,500,000 to carry out the activities
under subsection (f) for each of fiscal years 2019
through 2022, subject to the availability of
appropriations.
``(2) Limitation on funding.--Amounts made available to
carry out subsections (d), (e), and (f) shall be derived from
amounts appropriated or otherwise made available to the National
Science Foundation.''; and
(6) in subsection (j), as redesignated--
(A) in paragraph (4), by striking ``; and'' and
inserting a semicolon;
(B) by redesignating paragraph (5) as paragraph (7);
and
(C) <>  by inserting after
paragraph (4) the following:
``(5) the term `in-demand industry sector or occupation' has
the meaning given the term in section 3 of the Workforce
Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3102);
``(6) the term `junior or community college' has the meaning
given the term in section 312 of the Higher Education Act of
1965 (20 U.S.C. 1058);''; and
(D) by adding at the end the following:
``(8) the term `region' means a labor market area, as that
term is defined in section 3 of the Workforce Innovation and
Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3102); and
``(9) the terms `mathematics, science, engineering, or
technology' or `STEM' mean science, technology, engineering, and
mathematics, including computer science.''.
SEC. 4. <>  RESEARCH ON EFFICIENCY OF
SKILLED TECHNICAL LABOR MARKETS.

(a) Efficiency of Skilled Technical Labor
Markets <> .--The Director of the National Science
Foundation, working through the Directorate of Social, Behavioral &
Economic Sciences, in coordination with the Secretary of Labor, shall
support research on labor market analysis innovations, data and
information sciences, electronic information tools and methodologies,
and metrics.

(b) Skilled Technical Workforce.--
(1) Review <> .--The
National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics of the
National Science Foundation shall consult and coordinate with
other relevant Federal statistical agencies, including the
Institute of Education Sciences of the Department of Education,
and the Committee on Science, Technology, Engineering, and
Mathematics Education of the National Science and Technology
Council established under section 101 of the America COMPETES
Act of 2010 (Public Law 111-358), to explore the feasibility of
expanding its surveys to include the collection of objective
data on the skilled technical workforce.
(2) Report <> .--Not later than 1 year after
the date of enactment of this Act, the Director of the National
Science Foundation shall submit to Congress a report on the
progress made in expanding the National Center for Science and
Engineering Statistics surveys to include the skilled technical
workforce, including a plan for multi-agency collaboration to
improve data collection and reporting of data on the skilled
technical workforce.
(3) Definition of skilled technical workforce.--The term ``
`skilled technical workforce' '' means workers with high

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school diplomas and two-year technical training or
certifications who employ significant levels of STEM knowledge
in their jobs.
SEC. 5. EVALUATION AND REPORT.

(a) Evaluation.--
(1) In general <> .--Not later than 2 years
after the date of enactment of this Act, the Director of the
National Science Foundation shall evaluate the grant programs
established under subsections (d), (e), and (f) of section 3 of
the Scientific and Advanced-Technology Act of 1992 (42 U.S.C.
1862i), as amended by this Act.
(2) Requirements <> .--In conducting the
evaluation under paragraph (1), the Director shall--
(A) use a common set of benchmarks and assessment
tools to identify best practices and materials developed
or demonstrated by the research conducted pursuant to
such grants and programs under subsection (f) of that
section;
(B) include an assessment of the effectiveness of
the grant programs in expanding apprenticeships,
internships, and other applied learning opportunities
offered by employers in conjunction with junior or
community colleges, or institutions of higher education,
as applicable;
(C) assess the number of students who participated
in the grant programs; and
(D) assess the percentage of students participating
in the grant programs who successfully complete their
education programs.

(b) Report on Evaluations <> .--Not later than 180 days after the date the evaluation under
subsection (a) is complete, the Director of the National Science
Foundation shall submit to Congress and the Secretary of Education, and
make widely available to the public, a report on the results of the
evaluation, including any recommendations for legislative action that
could optimize the effectiveness of the grant programs.

Approved December 31, 2018.

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY--H.R. 5509:
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HOUSE REPORTS: No. 115-975 (Comm. on Science, Space, and Technology).
CONGRESSIONAL RECORD, Vol. 164 (2018):
Sept. 25, considered and passed House.
Dec. 19, considered and passed Senate, amended.
Dec. 20, House concurred in Senate amendment.
DAILY COMPILATION OF PRESIDENTIAL DOCUMENTS (2018):
Dec. 31, Presidential statement.